‎February 18

I am a 500 Euro note

A gentleman from a European country travelled with four 500 Euro notes to London.
He went to Oxford Street and found that the bureau de change cashiers were reluctant
to buy the 500 Euro notes. To avoid buying they valued the Euro less than their
own buying rate against GBP. The gentleman left Oxford Street thinking, “What is
wrong with people on Oxford Street? Why didn't they like our 500 Euro notes?”

500 Euro notes cannot be sold in the UK:

The reason why cashiers are reluctant to buy 500 Euro notes is because of legal
restrictions. In 2010, the exchange of 500 Euro notes was withdrawn from the UK
currency exchange market. This step was taken by the Serious Organised Crime Agency
(SOCA) which is now known as National Crime Agency (NCA). The motive behind this
step was to stop money laundering. For your reference, a recommended reading list
has been provided at the bottom of the article to give you more of an insight on
money laundering and organised crime.

Keeping this legislation in mind, the small bureau de change owners across London
need to legitimately buy 500 Euro notes from their customers and sell them to Wholesalers
or Banks only. The bureau de change cashiers may ask tourists to produce a valid
identification document before buying the 500 Euro notes. The bureau de change cashiers
cannot sell 500 Euro notes over the counter to other customers.

Where to exchange your 500 Euro notes in London:

Wholesalers in the UK have put restrictions on being able to buy 500 Euro notes.
So the bureau de change cashiers may buy 500 Euro notes from customers up to a certain
amount in one single transaction. The customers may be asked to provide a valid
identification document and if the amount is higher than the threshold then the
proof of the source of the funds must be provided.